Calm, after suicide bomber kills 59 at Pakistan Shia rally

Calm has returned to Pakistan's south-western city of Quetta after a suicide bomber killed 59 people on Friday. Eighty people were injured in the attack, which took place at a Shia Muslim rally. Police said the bomber was among the crowd and detonated the device on reaching the city’s main square.

Reuters

The rally was being held to mark Al-Quds day, an international event staged every year by the Shia community, opposing Israel's control of Jerusalem and showing solidarity with Palestinian Muslims.

Shia Muslims are in the minority in Pakistan, accounting for around a fifth of the country's 160 million Sunni dominated population.

Local television channel Aaj said one of its drivers had been killed in the blast, while there were reports of several other journalists injured in the incident.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the bomb blast and called for an immediate inquiry into the incident.